Radio age research, manufacturing, communications, broadcasting, television (1941)

TV Newsreels to be Exchanged ArrangcmctU Made by NBC with Foreign Broadcasters Calls jar Shoning of Latest Films Here and Abroad. "^ By William F. Brooks Vice President in Charge of Radio Netvs and Special Events, National Broadcasting Company, Inc. UXDER the provisions of agree- ments recently arranged be- tween the British Broadcasting Corporation, French Television and the National Broadcasting Com- pany for the exchange of news- reel films, news events occurring in foreign countries will be witnessed by television audiences in the United States. Representatives of the organizations discussed terms for the extension of newsreel cover- age at meetings held in London and Paris last October. NBC now has access to newsreels made in Bel- gium, Egypt, Holland, North Af- rica, Spain, Switzerland, South America, Yugoslavia and Scandi- navian countries, in addition to the output of special cameramen sta- tioned in Jerusalem and Tokyo. NHC maintains a London staff to perform the necessary screening be- fore films are shipped to the United States, a precaution that is possible under mutual arrangements that give both NBC and BBC the right to edit all films. Although at the year's end Great Britain had only an estimated 200,- 000 licensed television sets installed in the London area, BBC has dis- covered that its viewers are keenly interested in international affairs. Using portions of films supplied by NBC, the British station now spon- sors two weekly newsreel telecasts, originating from Alexandra Palace in London, BBC's main television studios and transmission center. [24 RADIO AGE] A new BBC transmitter recently completed at Sutton Coldfield, near Birmingham, with dual connections to London by radio relay link and a coaxial cable, is expected to serve a population of 6,650,000. Other BBC video stations are planned in York- shire and Scotland. Those ac- quainted with the situation believe that the British demand for a larger number of informative news pro- grams and educational features will be intensified as BBC extends its television coverage with these addi- tional transmitting facilities. France's only television station, located on the base of the Eiffel Tower, recently began broadcasting a series of 15-minute newsreel pro- grams for the benefit of an esti- mated five thousand set owners in the Paris area. Programs are pro- duced by the station's staff camera- men with additional film contributed by part-time lensmen operating in Paris and the provinces. Since November 11, 1949, when the film exchange agreement went into effect, French Television's en- tire newsreel supply has been avail- able to NBC. In turn, the American comi)any has offered its staff-pro- duced films for French telecasts. Here again, each party edits the other's films whenever necessary. NBC's news films dealing with subjects ranging from sports to diplomatic conferences have been enthusiastically accepted by English and French TV audiences. Because newsreels are sent to and from Europe by air express, events hap- pening on opposite sides of the Atlantic are often viewed on tele- vision screens no later than the day after they occur. Here in the United States, two NBC network shows, the "Camel News Caravan", a Monday-to-Fri- day feature and "Leon Pearson Reports", a Saturday night i)resen- tation, use the foreign newsreels along with films produced by the NBC newsreel staff and 100 cor- respondent cameramen scattered throughout the country. The "Camel News Caravan", which has been called the most up- to-the-minute show in television, employs the complete news-gather- ing facilities of the network, involv- ing more than 200 persons. The program uses all of the video indus- try's methods of news reporting in- cluding mobile units (live pickups), newsreels, visual aids supplemented by personalities and commentators. The "Caravan", less than a year old, already has established an impres- sive record of "firsts" and "exclu- sives" on television, many of them made possible by film exchanges with foreign nations. MOTION PlCTfRK FILMS ARE EHITED FOR NBC'S TELEVISION PROGRAMS AT THIS MACHINE. THE OPERATOR VIEWS THE MOVING STRIP THROUGH A LENS AND SYN- CHRONIZATION OF SOUND AND PICTURE IS CHECKED BY MEANS OF THE LOUD- SPEAKER MOUNTED ABOVE THE APPARATUS.